![Flag of Bergslagen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Flag_of_Bergslagen.svg)
Bergslagen is a historical, cultural, and linguistic region located north of
Lake Mälaren
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
in northern
Svealand
Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south central Sweden and is one of three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tiveden, T ...
,
Sweden, traditionally known as a mining district. In Bergslagen, the
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
and
metallurgic industries have been important since the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
although
Malmfälten ("the Ore Fields"), the mining district of northernmost Sweden centered at the towns of
Kiruna and
Malmberget
Malmberget ("The Ore Mountain", Finnish and Meänkieli: ''Malmivaara'') is a locality and mining town situated in Gällivare Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden. It had 5,590 inhabitants in 2010, reduced to 927 by December 2020. It is situate ...
, has been of greater importance during the 20th century.
Bergslagen is not precisely defined, but generally understood to cover part of the
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Västmanland
Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland.
Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''väst ...
,
Dalarna
Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales.
Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...
(the southern part), and
Värmland
Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...
(the eastern part). Typical towns in the area include
Lindesberg,
[ ] Nora
Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to:
* Nora (name), a feminine given name
People with the surname
* Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer
* Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian
Places Australia
* Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...
,
Fagersta
Fagersta is a locality and the seat of Fagersta Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden, with 11,130 inhabitants in 2010.
Geography
The city is located at the junction of two railways between Ludvika-Västerås and Avesta (Krylbo)-Örebr ...
,
Sala,
Kristinehamn
Kristinehamn is a locality and the seat of Kristinehamn Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, with 17,839 inhabitants in 2010.
Geography
Kristinehamn is situated by the shores of lake Vänern where the small rivers ''Varnan'' and ''Löt' ...
,
Filipstad
Filipstad is a locality and the seat of Filipstad Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, with 10,644 inhabitants in 2019.
Filipstad was granted city privileges in 1611 by Charles IX of Sweden, who named it after his son Duke Carl Philip (1601&n ...
,
Grythyttan,
Ludvika
Ludvika () is a bimunicipal city and the seat of Ludvika Municipality, Dalarna County within the country of Sweden, with 14,498 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
The conurbation of Ludvika extends over the border of Smedjebacken Municipality, where ...
and
Hedemora
Hedemora is a town in Dalarna County and the seat of Hedemora Municipality, Sweden, with 7,273 inhabitants in 2010.
Despite its small population, Hedemora is for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city'', and as such the oldes ...
. Also parts of northern
Östergötland, around
Finspång
Finspång () is a locality and the seat of Finspång Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 12,440 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
Finspång is a traditional industrial town. The first industries were established in 1580 when a Royal fact ...
, as well as southern
Närke
Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwe ...
can be included, then often referring to ''South Bergslagen''. A wider definition of the area can include parts of
Gästrikland
Gästrikland () is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Uppland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Hälsingland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Gästrikland is the southernmost of the Norrland provinces.
Other form ...
(
Hofors
Hofors () is a locality and the seat of Hofors Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 6,681 inhabitants in 2010.
Districts
*Born
*Böle
*Bönhusberget
*Centrum
*Göklund
*Hammaren
*Lillån
*Muntebo
*Rönningen
*Silverdale ...
) and
Uppland
Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
(the former iron manufacturing district centred on
Dannemora) as well.
History
The conflict of interests between iron exports from Bergslagen and territorial conflicts at
Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
's southern border was a chief reason behind the
Engelbrekt rebellion
The Engelbrekt rebellion (''Engelbrektsupproret'') was an uprising during 1434–1436 led by Swedish miner and nobleman Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson and directed against Eric of Pomerania, the king of the Kalmar Union. The uprising, with its cent ...
in 1434 and the following strifes that ultimately resulted in the dissolution of the
Kalmar Union in 1523.
The region was an industrial powerhouse from the 17th century, up to the
Steel crisis
The steel crisis was a recession in the global steel market during the 1973–75 recession and early 1980s recession following the post–World War II economic expansion and the 1973 oil crisis, further compounded by the 1979 oil crisis, and ...
during the 1970s.
Minerals and mining
The area is very rich in minerals. Mining has been focused on iron ore for centuries but other ores have been mined as well. Most mines are now closed, but in the 1970s many mines were still in operation. The earliest signs of iron making date back to 400 BC while industrial scale activities date back to the 17th century.
At
Långban
Långban is a mining area in Värmland in Sweden. It belongs to Filipstad Municipality, with the nearest city being Filipstad, 21 km south. It was systematically mined through 1711-1972, but has traces from the 15th century. It is the birthp ...
, where
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
and
manganese
Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
have been mined, 270 mineral species have been reported to date. Many of these minerals are unique to the Långban deposit, and 67 minerals were first found at this site.
See also
*
Ecomuseum Bergslagen
Ecomuseum Bergslagen ( sv, Ekomuseum Bergslagen) is an open-air museum in the western part of the former mining and smelting region of Bergslagen in central Sweden. The museum opened in 1986 and is today the world's largest ecomuseum. The museum i ...
*
Falu red
Falu red or falun red ( ; sv, falu rödfärg, ) is a permeable red paint commonly used on wooden cottages and barns in Sweden, Finland, and Norway.
History
Following hundreds of years of mining in Falun, large piles of residual product were ...
*
Roslagen
Roslagen is the name of the coastal areas of Uppland province in Sweden, which also constitutes the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago.
Historically, it was the name for all the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, including the eastern p ...
*
Mälaren Valley
The Mälaren Valley ( sv, Mälardalen), occasionally referred to as Stockholm-Mälaren Region (''Stockholm-mälarregionen''), is the easternmost part of Svealand, the catchment area of Lake Mälaren and the surrounding municipalities. The term is ...
References
External links
Ecomuseum Bergslagen- Official site
Mining in Sweden
Metallogenetic provinces
{{Sweden-geo-stub